They say that every story, every legend, every so-called "myth" has at its heart a 
grain of truth. To look for it can be a hard task, and many times the line between "truth" 
and "fiction" is far from clear cut. 
 	Around the world, there exist stories from radically different cultures that are 
startlingly similar.  Some of these are shrugged off as having evolved from older legends 
from the same geographic area.  Others are not so readily explained. 
 	Time and again, animals from the realm of what is now deemed fantasy pop up, 
with many of the same characteristics applied to them. The chittering dolphin, boon to 
fishermen and sailors, who is one of the masters of the sea. The soaring eagle, king of the 
skies, who is death from above to its prey. The earthy, vibrant unicorn, representing 
masculinity and purity both. Fiery flier who is reborn always, yet immortal, the phoenix 
is especially prominent on the Eurasian continent, though versions of her appear 
elsewhere in the world, as well. Duality incarnate is the dragon, who exists in each of the 
four elements, and is master of them all. Finally, the gryphon, guardian and symbol of the 
sun. 
 	Who inspired the storytellers who tell of these beasts? Every culture has its 
version of the six, and many more. The swan, the wolf, raven, fox, and bear are only a 
few among the many. People speak, too, of muses, of inspiration that strikes quickly, and 
must be grabbed before it flees away. Dreams hold power to us, and rare is the person 
who does not have one dream they remember in detail, if only for a while. 
 	My kind has existed as long as has mankind. To you, we are but dreams, born 
of long ago legends and childhood fantasies. To us, you are the dreams, and we the 
Dreamers. We, too, are human, but set apart. This is the story of one of our kind, who 
found us when the need for us was greatest and our numbers few. We are Dreamers. But 
you are the ones who Dream.
      

Always, the Dream. Always, the same images flickered through her too receptive, 
yet unwilling, mind. The ageless old woman, dressed in white tunic and breeches, with 
the brilliant blue eyes. The young, golden skinned, auburn haired girl with bottomless 
brown ones, the image of a sleek lioness superimposed over her slender frame. The swan, 
raising its wings, and then bringing them together with a glowing azure light between 
them, taking the old woman’s place. Lightening arcing from the sky, blackening snowy 
feathers of the graceful, powerful bird. The crystalline song shattering the air instead of a 
scream as the leonine maid flees from the battlefield, something in her arms. The bundle 
echoes the song quietly as the scene fades, while far away, and old, almost forgotten 
woman shudders in her sleep, and dies.
      
*	*	*	*	*

	The alarm’s insistent screeching jolted the dreamer awake. Reanna gave the old, 
battered clock radio an annoyed glare, before turning it off. Cursing at the time, she 
tumbled out of bed, changing into her clothes for the day and grabbing her jacket. Almost 
as an afterthought, she grabbed the small tigers-eye pendant that she had worn for as long 
as she could remember and shoved it into her pocket for good luck. Grabbing her books, 
she headed outside to the car, and set off for school.
	The desert was pretty this morning, the red bedrock of Sedona showing through 
the scattered brush. Still, she resented it. Gods, what I wouldn’t give to get out of here. 
Not enough water. Why do I always feel drawn to the water?, her rebellious mind thought 
savagely as she negotiated a road strewn liberally with potholes.
	Reanna Michaels, known as Re to the few friends she had, was an enigma even to 
herself. Her foster parents never told her who her real ones were, and she never felt 
drawn to caring enough to find out. The dreams had been troubling her ever since she 
was small, and she’d always felt as if there was somewhere else she ought to be, another 
life to lead. She turned onto the highway, remembering what little she could of her life. It 
had been unremarkable, really, despite the fact that she had stayed with the same foster 
family since she was small. Average in school, average in looks, with the only 
remarkable thing being the unusual brightness of her flame red hair and emerald eyes. 
Even now, in college, she was only average, only taking the most general of requirements 
at the University of Arizona until she could find her path.
	A red fox ran in front of the car, narrowly escaping being hit. Re glanced at it. 
Must have run from a zoo or some idiot who thought it was a pet, she thought darkly, as 
she waited for it to cross. Moments later, a black fox came out of the brush on the side of 
the road and followed the red one. Both looked up at her from the middle of the road, 
staring, before running off. Reanna got the strange feeling that they had not been 
frightened, but strangely… amused? Shaking it off, she took her foot off the brake and 
drove on, sensing that the foxes were still watching her, though the rearview mirror 
showed nothing out of the ordinary.
      
      “Re! Girl, where have you been? Professor McLaughlin was ready to chew nails 
when you didn’t show up for your presentation.” Panting, Alys ran to catch up, looking 
worried. The light-skinned brunette looked Reanna over critically. “You’re always late 
these days. That’s not like you. Been losing sleep again?”
	Re grimaced, hefting her backpack a bit higher on her shoulder. “Yeah, I 
overslept. I’m fine. It’s just a dream.”
      “Just a dream? Girl, you *know* a dream that reoccurs three or more times in a 
month is true or soon will be! I mean, come on. You’ve been having it since you were 
little, right? Go and research it.” Alys was known on campus for being extremely New 
Age, but usually backed off quickly. The issue of the dream, however, was not one she 
was willing to drop. Sometimes Reanna wondered if there was more to her best friend 
than she let on. “Look, I’ve done some of my own, and I really think you should, too. 
Maybe you can find out more than me. I mean, it’s your dream.”
	Reanna sighed, internally rolling her eyes. A dream was a dream was a dream. 
“We’ll see. By the way, are foxes native to this area?”
	Alys looked startled, then perplexed, fingering her gryphon bracelet. “Uh, not that 
I know of. Why?”
	“I saw two on the ride here. A red and a black, and I swear they were snickering 
at me or something. Ran right in front of my damned car.”
	“Weird. Dunno what to tell you.” The brunette fingered the bracelet again, and 
then collected herself. “I gotta run to class. See you later.”
	“Sure. Bye.” Reanna shrugged and headed to her next class, forgetting all other 
concerns.

	A few hours later, Re stopped by the cafeteria before heading home. After 
grabbing a sandwich from the case, she stood up, only to bump into a young man 
standing behind her. He was tall with red hair like her own and a generous sprinkling of 
freckles across his nose. Sparkling gray eyes grinned at her, twinkling with a light all 
their own.
	“Sorry, I didn’t see you there, miss.” His hint of a light Irish brogue and strong 
tenor voice made her raise her eyebrows imperceptibly, as she couldn’t help but smile 
back. He glanced at her books. “Speech 110? I’m in that course myself. Just joined. 
McLaughlin?”
	“It’s alright; I should have looked where I was going. And yes, that’s my 
professor. I’m Reanna.” She held out her hand, caught by his eyes.
	He took it in a firm handshake, then lifted it to his lips briefly. “I’m Issac. A 
pleasure to meet such a charming young woman.” He looked up for a moment, then 
nodded to someone behind her. “And this is my fiancée, Katrina.”
	Reanna turned to see an olive-skinned young woman who looked to have come 
straight from the Mediterranean, with long, flowing black hair, and a mischievous smile 
to match Isaac’s. Reanna blinked. “Hi.”
	Katrina spoke with a definite Spanish accent as she grinned widely. “Ah, a new 
senorita caught by mi novia’s charms, no? He is the handsome one, but I know he would 
not ask me to share.” She winked, smiling even more broadly than her love.
	“Milady flatters me always with her charms.” Issac chuckled, winking at Reanna 
as well to let her know things were alright.
	Re looked a little confused, but that faded quickly with the winks. “I’m glad to 
meet both of you. Are you new here?”
	Isaac answered for them both, while Katrina smiled. “We arrived the other night 
from New York. Trying to get some credits here at the university before moving on 
again.”
	Reanna nodded. “I’d love to leave myself. Go somewhere with a view of the 
ocean.” She stopped as she noticed Katrina staring at her oddly. “Yes?”
	“The ocean? Something in the way you said that makes me wonder, you sound 
almost longing, and you strike such a chord in me, cisne.”
	“Cisne? Its a perfectly normal wish, isn’t it?”
	Isaac glanced sharply at Katrina, who fell silent. “Dear, you’re confusing the poor 
girl.” He turned back to Reanna. “I’m sorry. Katrina and I are Wiccan, and have always 
felt very connected with nature. You have that kind of feeling yourself. Connected, and 
strong.”
	“Katrina! You came! Girl, where have you *been*? And who is that handsome 
young man? He is such a hottie!”
	Reanna winced at the shrill shout from just behind her ear. “You know them, 
Alys?”
	Alys came running up, out of breath, giving Katrina a hug that almost lifted her 
from the ground, despite being smaller and lighter. “I met them online a while ago. 
We’ve mainly been chatting from AIM. I’m the one who invited her here.”
	Re shook her head, then headed for the counter, followed by the others, where she 
paid for her sandwich and gathered her books. “Cool. Hey, I’ve got to head home now. 
See all of you tomorrow?”
	Isaac nodded. “Sure. Nice meeting you, Reanna.”
	“Bye.” Katrina’s voice had softened.
	“See you tomorrow. And get some sleep before I make you do so!”
	“Yes, Alys.”

	The night, the dream changed. The young girl still fled, with the bundle still 
reverberating with the swan’s last song, but now it continued instead of ending. A strong, 
tall, African man with broad shoulders approached the girl as she rested on a rock in a 
grassy meadow, speaking words Reanna could not catch. The girl looked up at him with a 
tear-streaked face, clinging to the bundle, whose contents were still hidden. A young 
gryphon cub tumbled beside him, a small practice sword sheathed tightly at its side so the 
blade did not drag on the ground. Two small fox cubs, one red and one black, played off 
to one side, near a softly sleeping baby rabbit. Near them, two, were two more gryphon 
cubs, one with the short face and beak of an owl, and the other the color of a red-tailed 
hawk. The cub coming towards the girl was also an owl, but white, with black beak and 
forelimbs. A tawny adolescent came up to her, sunlight gleaming on the real sword 
strapped to his side, as he changed into a blue-eyed young man in light armor. He knelt 
beside her, looking at the bundle, as the older African man did the same. A few minutes 
later, the group was approached by a young man the age of the changed gryphon and the 
girl. His coloring matched hers, as he took her into his arms and let her cry. She handed 
the bundle to the old man, who bowed, and disappeared with it. Finally, Reanna heard 
soft words.
	
      “Il minore di Cygnus non conoscerà mai il suo predecessore.”
      
	Reanna dressed the next day before the alarm even went off, and hurried to 
school. Spotting Alys, she ran over. “The dream changed. It changed.”
	Alys blinked, then pulled Reanna over to a table. “Ok, spill.”
	“It didn’t stop where it always does. It can’t be real. I told you so. Because it 
featured gryphons and they don’t exist!” Reanna smiled triumphantly, as the reality of the 
dream had been the source of many an argument between the two girls.
	“Gryphons?”
	Reanna described the dream to Alys, noting that when she mentioned the 
creatures and gryphons, the other girl blinked.
	At the end, Alys shook her head. “Re… that sounds like one I’ve had, but I know 
why I’ve had it.”
	“Oh? You never told me about it.”
	“Because I never remembered it, until you told me. Look, can you wait here? I 
think we need to talk with someone else about this. Someone who knows more.”
	A few minutes later, she returned with Katrina and Isaac. Reanna looked up at 
them curiously. “Alys? Reanna? What’s going on?”
	Alys’ features had changed slightly, and Reanna realized she was looking at a 
rarely seen, serious side of her friend. A fighter who looked at last to have found 
something she was searching for. “Sit down, we need to talk. Reanna’s been having 
dreams since she was little, almost as long as I’ve known her.”
	“Alys, everyone dreams. Surely you didn’t need to bother them about this.”
	Against her protests, Reanna watched her best friend relate the dream to the 
newcomers, resenting it slightly, but finding herself unable to stop her. The other two 
looked confused at first, but quickly that changed to amazement and understanding. Re 
began to wonder if she’d made the mistake of making friends with three people who were 
obviously insane. She got up as if to leave, blushing red with embarrassment.
	Katrina put her hand on the red-head’s arm. “It is alright, cisne. Sit. We are not 
loco, but rather concerned. Your mind is awhirl, senorita, full of doubts and forgotten 
memories.”
	Re blushed again, but sat. “I, um…”
	Black eyes looked kindly at her, full of compassion. “Ah, lostling. You did not 
tell me so much with your actions as with your thoughts. Now I know why we were 
drawn here.”
	“Lostling? Drawn here? And are you trying to say you read my thoughts?” 
Reanna drew back, as the image of a panicked unicorn fighting a gentle hand to rear 
came unbidden to her thoughts.
	Isaac winced, as if he’d seen the image. “Katrina speaks before she explains. May 
we meet with you after class somewhere private? Please, we mean you no harm.”
	Alys looked worried, and apologetic. “Yeah, Re. Maybe we can meet at your 
apartment. Please. I promise you’ll understand soon. Have I ever lied to you?”
	Re sighed, and relented. “No, you haven’t. Fine. Alys, you can give them the 
directions to my place, and I’ll meet you after class.”